Will travel to Oman to study Arabic

06.05.13 VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova University graduate student Michael Fatigati has been awarded the 2013 U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS). Fatigati is pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies with a concentration in History in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This is the fourth year in a row that a Villanovan has received this award.

Through this scholarship, Fatigati will travel to Oman to study Arabic in the summer of 2013. He is one of approximately 610 undergraduate and graduate students in the U.S. who received a scholarship from the U.S. Department of State’s CLS Program this year. The CLS Program, which provides fully-funded, group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences, is part of a U.S. government effort to dramatically expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages.

“I am thrilled to have received the Critical Language Scholarship to continue studying the Arabic language in Oman this summer,” said Fatigati, who will begin studying for his doctorate at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Medieval Studies this fall. “The faculty at Villanova has been tremendously supportive in cultivating my interest in the study of Arabic.”

During his time at Villanova, Fatigati received a number of honors and awards, including the Graduate Student Research Prize and the Joseph Connelly Endowed Chair Fellowship. He is an active participant in the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at Villanova University and is a member of the Professional Development Committee of the University’s Theology Department. Fatigati received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with minors in English and Theology from Biola University in La Mirada, California.

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Villanova University was founded in 1842 by the Order of St. Augustine. To this day, Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition is the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University’s six colleges.